Guidelines. Buttle UK Small Grants Programme and. BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme

Transcription

1 Guidelines Buttle UK Small Grants Programme and BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme The aim of the programme Who can we help? Who can make grant applications? How to Apply? What items we can assist with? What items we cannot assist with? Local Authority Welfare Provision, Discretionary Assistance Fund, Scottish Welfare Fund and Community Care Grants 8. Submitting your application What Happens Next? 9. How does the client receive their award? 10. Items Supplied Directly to Client 11. Cash Grants 12. Contact Details for Beds and White Goods Supplied Direct 13. Is there a Right to Appeal? 14. How can I contact Buttle UK? 1. The aim of the programme The aim of Buttle UK Small Grants Programme and BBC Children in Need Emergency Essentials Programme is to help children and young people in desperate need who are without essential items. We directly provide grants for items that are intended to make a positive impact where a child s health or development is at risk. The items that we fund are critical to the well being of the child/young person. These will ensure that the children s basic needs are met, such as a warm bed to sleep in, a cooker to provide a hot meal, or a fridge so that food can be safely stored, to allow for a balanced, healthy diet so that they can thrive. Buttle UK prioritises applications from children and young people who are facing exceptionally difficult circumstances or who are facing a crisis situation. We consider those who are living in severe poverty, suffering deprivation as a result and who are facing additional social issues such as domestic violence, drug and alcohol misuse, estrangement, illness, distress, abuse, neglect, behavioural or mental health issues. Applications based mainly on financial hardship will not normally be considered. By financial hardship we mean families or young people who are struggling to meet everyday living costs and cannot afford to purchase or replace essential household items. Facing financial hardship alone does not make a client eligible for our support and they need to be facing additional social welfare issues in order to be considered.

2 2. Who can we help? Children aged 18 or under living with parents or carers Young people aged 20 years and under who are living independently who are estranged or orphaned. We are unable to help Adults aged 21 and over Parents who are not the main carer for the child Young people leaving care who can access funding under the provisions of The Children (Leaving Care) Act 2000 Families and young people who are non- EU residents on a student or work visa Families or young people not normally resident in the UK 3. Who can make grant applications? We do not accept applications directly from clients. Applications must be completed by a support worker, working within an organisation, supporting the family or young person, and who is capable of assessing their needs. They should also be able to administer a grant on behalf of Buttle UK. We can accept applications from a wide variety of organisations including statutory or charitable organisations providing a health care, social care or advice service, Probation and Youth Offending, Tenancy support, Education services including Primary and Secondary schools, NHS and Primary Care Trusts, Sure Start and Children s Centres and Flying Start and Communities First. 4. How to Apply? Online Web Form - The quickest and easiest ways to submit an application is to apply via our On- line Web system. It is our preferred method of making an application as it allows for sensitive and confidential information about clients to be securely received and automatically saved. You will also be able to return to incomplete applications should you need to obtain further information to complete it. There will also be a historical log of your applications for future reference. You will need to have access to the Internet and registration is straightforward and instant as long as you have an agency- administered account that is only used by yourself and not shared with colleagues. (Please note that we cannot accept registrations from accounts such as Hotmail, Gmail or Yahoo). The Web- Application Form supports the following browsers - Internet Explorer 10 or above, Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox. If you are using older browsers (Internet Explorer Version 9 and older), then you will not be able to access the system. We advise you to speak with your IT Support in respect of upgraded your current browsers in order for you to access the secure web- form. To register please go to the link below or type it into your internet browser. If you are using the system for the first time, you will need to press the REGISTER button to tell us your agency s details. Form - If you are unable to use the on- line web form due to incompatibility issues, you can request an form. We ask that you try to register to use the online form before requesting an form. You will need to send an addressed to applications@buttleuk.org with the word REQUEST in the subject line. You do not need to type anything else in the . A form will be sent to you within 15 minutes, as an attachment located in the . Complete the form, save it first, then attach it to an and submit it to our automated system by sending it to applications@buttleuk.org with the word SUBMIT in the subject line. Please do not attach any other documents to this and do not password protect the document.

3 Postal Application Form - Paper application forms available as a printable PDF document, will only be accepted if you are unable to use the web or versions of the form and if you do not have an individual agency administered address. Please do not use old versions of the form that you may have on file. We ask that you download the most up- to- date version of the form from our website at The form will need to be completed by hand, signed by yourself and your client and posted with a supporting statement on your agency headed paper to the relevant Buttle UK office. Once received, an application can take between 2 4 weeks for assessment by a caseworker. We will notify you of the outcome by or letter, whether or not it has been successful. 5. What items we CAN assist with Buttle UK provides critical household items such as: Gas or electric cookers (standard sized 50cm wide) Fridge freezers (including separate under counter items and chest freezers) Washing machines, particularly if there are disability or soiling issues Children s beds and bedding Essential household items, furniture and kitchen equipment Clothing in exceptional or emergency situations Baby equipment if the family is not eligible for a Sure Start Maternity Grant As Buttle UK receives a large volume of applications, and we have limited funds, our maximum grant is around 300. This helps us to assist as many children and young people as we can and also provide a level of funding that can meet their needs. We are normally only able to assist with one item per successful application. Please speak to your client to prioritise the item they are most in need of. In exceptional circumstances we are able to consider requests for more than one item. This decision will be at the discretion of Buttle UK. Buttle UK has to work within specific criteria, agreed by our Trustees, however we also aim to provide a flexible grant programme to assist those most in need. If you are unsure as to whether your request will meet with our criteria and you wish to discuss a case prior to making an application, please contact us: England info@buttleuk.org Scotland scotland@buttleuk.org Wales wales@buttleuk.org Northern Ireland nireland@buttleuk.org 6. What items we CANNOT assist with As we receive a high volume of applications and have limited funding there are some items we are unable to consider, these include: Carpeting or flooring Payment of fuel/utility bills, council tax or rent Payment of loans or debts, bankruptcy fees or rent deposits Household repairs/adaptations/additions Holidays, school trips or play schemes Childcare/Child- minding/afterschool Clubs Children s toys/christmas presents Specialist equipment Computers or televisions Travel costs or driving lessons

4 General subsistence costs Funeral Costs/Headstones Items solely for the use of parents e.g. beds for parents 7. Local Authority Welfare Provision, Discretionary Assistance Fund, Scottish Welfare Fund and Community Care Grants Buttle UK has a policy to ensure that clients have exhausted all possible support from public funds before making an award and there is an expectation that if a family or young person is eligible to apply for assistance from statutory sources that an application is made for the items being requested from Buttle UK. This would be their Local Authority Welfare Provision in England, the Discretionary Assistance Fund in Wales, the Scottish Welfare Fund or a Community Care Grant in Northern Ireland. 8. Submitting your application If you are applying online or by your client does not need to sign the application form. However, you do need to have your client s full consent to apply for a grant on their behalf. There is a box on the form that you must check, to confirm this consent. Our automated system will read your application form to ensure that all compulsory fields have been fully completed. You will then receive an notifying you that your application has been received. The will also contain details of the Caseworker dealing with your application along with their address and direct telephone number. Your case will be allocated a unique application number that we ask you to quote when contacting us. If you have sent your application by post, we are unable to send an automated confirmation. An application can take between 2 4 weeks for assessment by a caseworker and you will be notified of the outcome of this application via or letter, regardless of whether or not it has been successful. Buttle UK receives around 15,000 applications for assistance per year and to keep the grant programme as fair as possible we are unable to prioritise applications. Applications are therefore assessed in date order. We appreciate that the majority of applicants meet with our criteria and are experiencing a difficult crisis and require items that are of an urgent nature. We ask for your assistance in allowing sufficient time to consider your application, and to only contact us about a decision on an application if you have not heard from us within four weeks of its submission. PLEASE NOTE: The decision whether to award a grant is purely at the discretion of Buttle UK, and there is no guarantee that a grant will be made. 9. How does the client receive their award? Cash awards are payable by cheque to the agency applying, and will be sent to the support worker to administer. Direct supply items such as white goods and beds are delivered and installed directly to the client's home. Buttle UK rely on the referring agency to inform the family of the outcome of an application. However, if your client has been awarded an item to by supplied direct, a customer service representative from that company will contact your client to arrange a delivery date for the awarded item. Please ensure your client is made aware that they will be contacted and that you have given us their correct delivery address and up- to- date phone number otherwise this may cause delays in them receiving the award. We will send a letter directly to the client s home informing them of the award. This letter also gives details of the 12- month guarantee for products that have been supplied and also gives the telephone number of the repairs services should they be needed.

5 10. Items Supplied Directly to Client White Goods - Buttle UK has contracts in place for the direct supply of white goods. If the item awarded is a white good (e.g. cooker, fridge freezer, washing machine) Buttle UK will order the item from their suppliers. The client will be contacted within 5 working days to arrange the delivery and installation. They will also remove an old item if required and previously requested on the form. If a gas cooker has been awarded please ensure the property has the appropriate connections and that the gas supply is uncapped. Beds - If the family has been awarded a bed (e.g. either single, double, bunk beds and mattresses) Buttle UK will order the item from their suppliers who will contact the client within 5 working days to arrange a delivery date. Please note that the beds come flat packed and will require assembly. We are unable to offer an assembly service on beds and we cannot take away old beds or mattresses. Clients will need to make their own arrangements. Where possible we will provide items directly rather than awarding a cash grant even when a cash grant has been requested, as this will ensure your client receives their award quickly and safely. This also eliminates the need for the supporting agency to receive and bank a cheque as well as supervise the spending of the grant to purchase the goods required. Unfortunately we are unable to assist with customer preference, so clients are unable to choose their own item.. Buttle UK has set up contracts to provide white goods and beds directly to families. These goods are brand new items, with a 12- month guarantee that will be safely delivered and installed directly to the client s home. We have a limited selection of items and we are unable to offer customer preference on items in respect of particular colour, make and models, however we do take into account particular dimensions of where the items need to be installed within the home. 11. Cash Grants For all other items (ie not white goods or beds) grants are awarded by a cheque made payable to the referring agency. Buttle UK expect the organisation to process the cheque, supervise the spending of the grant to ensure it is used appropriately on the items requested and for receipts to be kept on file for auditing purposes. We will need the name of your organisation as it appears on the bank account. We do not need the bank account number, as we send payments by cheque through the post. Payment by BACS is not available. If you are applying for a white good or a bed that can be supplied directly to your client s home, please enter direct supply or unable to accept cheques in the box that asks for a cheque payee. If your organisation cannot accept a cheque we are able to make a cheque payable to a local supplier provided that they will accept a cheque from Buttle UK. Please note we do not make cheques payable directly to clients. 12. Contact Details for our suppliers The name of the supplier will be detailed on your award letter. In England and Wales beds and white goods are supplied by Co- op, Avinity and Dreams. In Scotland white goods are supplied by Avinity and Co- op. The direct delivery of beds is not currently available in Scotland. In Northern Ireland white goods and beds are supplied by Vision Sales. For the delivery of white goods from Co- op you will need to contact Co- op on option 1 or them at commercialqueries@coop.co.uk

6 For the delivery of white goods from Avinity you will need to contact Avinity on option 3 or them at buttle@avinity.com For the delivery of beds you need to contact Dreams on ext or peter.lally@dreams.co.uk For the delivery of white goods and beds in Northern Ireland you need to contact Wesley Bell at Vision Sales on Option 3 or wesley.bell@visionsaledirect.co.uk If there is a problem regarding delivery or installation, including problems that may occur during the 12- month warranty period, please contact the suppliers directly and they will be able to rectify this for you. 13. Is there a right to appeal? There is no right to appeal. The decision whether to award a grant is solely at the discretion of Buttle UK. If you wish us to review our decision based on additional information that you wish us to consider, which did not form part of the original application, this can be provided in writing directly to the Casework Manager by or post. Due to the fact that we receive more applications than we have funds for, we are unable to assist in every case and have to apply specific criteria and prioritise those most in need of our assistance. 14. How can I contact Buttle UK? England: Buttle UK, 15 Greycoat Place London SW1P 1SB Tel: info@buttleuk.org Scotland: Buttle UK, PO Box 5075, Glasgow G78 4WA Tel/Fax: scotland@buttleuk.org Wales: Buttle UK, PO Box 2528, Cardiff CF23 0GX Tel: wales@buttleuk.org Northern Ireland: Buttle UK, PO Box 484, Belfast BT6 0YA Tel/Fax: nireland@buttleuk.org